Justice League/ JLU watch-along

[undeadpool]

I dont know if the UK Netflix updates the same way, but JLU was part of a recent update, as TM2 said and not part of the initial selection

[TM2 Dinobot]

Episode 1 thoughts. Updating.

If this takes place in the future, that astronaut obviously played the new Tomb Raider game.

Hate the opening. Always have.

Batman: Ears are too long. EARS ARE TOO LONG!

Superman's voice sounds funny.

Disarming nukes? For an evil astronaut/senator? This will end well.

Martians. Ah. The DC version of War of the Worlds. Even the same 3 legged walkers.

That general is the same one from Superman TAS. Different voice though. But he's an alien too, so it's okay.

Episode 2.

Hard for me not tom just take the Wonder Woman movie as canon and run with it. Also, why is there an American flag costume just there? And why-- NAKED DIANA! ...I lost my train of thought.

Wasn't that Batplane a single seater 5 mins ago?

"Help has arrived." With no explanation.

How did she know where they were? And how do all these other people know eachother?

Martian years are 1.88 Earth years. So 532 Martian years ago. But their days But their day is longer, so a Martian year is 668 Martian days, while it's 687 Earth Days. So they have one less month maybe? IDK, I think I'm overthinking this. 500 years is a loooong time for a resistance though.

EARS ARE TOO LONG!

Told you disarming was a bad idea.

"What was that? We're on another continent, yet I heard something."

Man I love Flash.

Batman. Always analyzing, always looking for a weankness. Even in his own teammates.

Alien Wilhelm Scream.

"No. Batman's down. I'm such a bad actress." That you are honey.

Episode 3

I love how they try and work in the 'don't judge a book by its cover' lesson in the two roughneck bikers saving kids.

Hurry! The Almighty Tallests are coming!

Oh snap, GL. Diana just served you with your own words!

Haha, "Is it just me or does he creep you out too?" Flash has the best lines.

Oh my lord! it's the reveal sequence from ID4!

Well, now they're all trapped, and Batman's dead. Who will save them now?

And this suddenly took a terribly creepy turn. Tentacle raped.

It's Batman! Who saw that coming? Not me!

Except that explanation makes no sense as there are actually MORE UV rays in space than on Earth. So if they came from space, thy should actually have a greater resistance to UVA/B.

EARS ARE TOO LONG!

Yeah, I don't have much to add. Just origin episode is origin episode. It's not really good. I've seen this team at their best. This isn't great. Is it bad? No. Would I turn it off if I were a kid? No. But if I didn't know it was going to get better, I might. it's just... Not a good episode. The writing is placid and the animation is churned out. If it weren't for Flash's wise cracks this would have been a loss. I think part of the problem is they were given an hour to work with. These guys write for 22 mins. So maybe they're just not used to it. But I mean compare to The World's Finest in Superman TAS. Some length of time, but the writing and animation in that just pops. To this day my sister and I still joke "Harley!" "Mercy." Just cause it's that good. This feels processed. Maybe they'd been at it for so long now. This episode was actually written in the middle of Batman Beyond and at the end of Batman/Superman. The creative team had to be stretched a bit thin at this point. JLU is, IMO, so much better, not because of the writing but because of the time constraints. Timing is everything in animation. It's expensive. You have to develop characters, show your art and tell a story in 22 mins. Giving writers 90 mins to work with is like handing a 13 year old 90 mins of pr0n. After the first 2 mins he's going to pass out. This story could have easily been condensed into 2 episodes instead of 3. I see what they were going for, changing of the network guard, but still.

Anyways, other thoughts?

Edited April 17, 2013 by TM2 Dinobot

[undeadpool]

Just a reminder that tomorrow we begin week 2 of the watch-through

[karamazov80]

I tried to re-watch the first mini-series last year I think? And it was hard for me to sit through. The animation was cheap and basic, the characters were pretty bland, and the story was pretty generic. I think Timm et al. could have done something a bit more creative or memorable here. When it first came out, of course I was really into it just because we had never seen the JLA before in any motion-type media apart from the Super Friends/Powers, and this was a semi-serious take on it, but even then I knew it was less than it should have been. Really, I think that applies to the bulk of the first Justice League series. Like TM2, that opening sucks also. Now JLU. . .brilliant. Love it. Some episodes of Justice League were quite good in my mind, but often they felt long-winded and as if there was a lot of padding to get them to the hour broadcast mark. That opening salvo with the tentacle aliens or whatever was a let down to me.

[TM2 Dinobot]

Episode 2.

Not a bad intro. Already this picks up after the snorefest that was the pilot. Red Foreman plays an alien () and apparently John committed a crime. My only question is why are the Manhuntters there? Aren't they from Oa? All will be answered.

Heh. Hawkboy.

Well, so much for an early warning system. The Manhunters flew right past the Watchtower before the alarms went off.

Oh yay, Superman comes to save the day! Maybe he'll have better luc-- nope, he's down too.

Oh hey! Blue guys being dicks!

Oh hey! Other Lanterns being dicks! John must be in for it now.

Hmm, Manhunters being sneaky. Who didn't see that coming? Honestly?

The DCAU is no stranger to strange worlds. Apokolips showed up in Superman, as well as the 80's/90's spoof that is Lobo (love that episdoe). But there are two things that don't fit well in the JLU. Batman and Green Lantern. Both have world so tight and unique to themselves it's difficult to combine them with anything else. That's not to say they're bad, by no means. They're some of the best stories out there. But they simply have a harder time playing well with others. This is alright adaptation, and does better than some, but at times it still feels off.

Haha. Gotta love Flash. Just barely got it landed and now he can't get it started.

Animation error. The prosecutor uses the wrong voice.

Interestingly enough, Tan Jar Ro is voiced by Kurtweood Smith in GL: First Flight. Thought that was an interesting twist.

Oh no, John actually did what they're saying! What's going to happen?

Episode 2

Hawkgirl actually has an interesting bit of personality. She's very black and white. John is guilty, therefore he should be punished, regardless if John's her teammate or not. I like that. These people aren't all buddy buddy, and Hawkgirl is still an unknown, just like J'onn. We're still getting to know these guys. And even if they were best friends, they wouldn't always agree on some very basic levels. It's nice.

Heh. They executed all their lawyers. I love it.

And Hawkgirl just walks up and starts wailing on GLs. Awesome. I'm starting to really like her.

The moon is still there? Hey look!

Oh yeah, the Manhunter plot. How can these guys just decide to overthrow the Guardians? They have no personality. Shouldn't they all be the leader if they're all equal robots? Is the main one their Cyber Controller or something? They never explain that.

I personally can't decide if John is brave or stupid. He's not walking blindly to his death, he knows what he did and accepts t. But I'd kinda be like Flash, you're nt taking me alive type thing. IDK. It's another bit of great development.

Sometimes I just think that super powers and guns don't go together, Like, guns belong in Transformers or something. It just seems off. Then again, a lot of the DCU seems off to me.

I shall destroy you with WISHES!

Okay, so what do I like about this episode? It's not the pilot. That may seem sardonic, but MAN i hated that thing. The plot was bad, the writing was bad, the acting was bad, the animation was awful. This one, by comparison, is a lovely jewel. That being said, it holds up okay. Just okay. The GL mythos in the last 10 years have exploded. I'f I'd seen this as a kid I would have loved it. It feels a lot less shoehorned in that the Superman TAS episode with Kyle. This story actually flows, has a nice arc, some alright character development with John and some genuinely funny moments. I feel like we're actually getting to know these people. The animation, while still not JLU/EMH level, is much better. The lack of that extra half hour helped a lot I think.

I think most of my issues with this episode stem from the fact that I love the GL stories, and I know so much more of them now than I did before. There's more out there than when this episode was made. Even watching First Flight and Tales of the Corps, let alone the DC Nation GL show (rip , this feels dated. We have Blackest Night, the Skittles Lanterns and all the other great Geoff Jones stories now.

So no. This episode isn't bad. It just shows it's age. Kinda like Beast Wars (though not that good). That said, there are still some genuinely amusing parts, and the second half feels much better than the first. Hawkgirl taking on the Corps is probably the highlight for me. Anyways, enjoy.

[TM2 Dinobot]

Some of you might enjoy this.

[undeadpool]

all I have to say is, I love this episode for ONE BIG REASON

LARVOX

Edited April 20, 2013 by undeadpool